Right, now that I got my disclaimers out of the way I can actually start this review! The first episode is almost identical to the the first episode of the original. Usagi Tsukino is introduced as a clumsy crybaby with bad school grades but after helping it out she gets ambushed by a talking cat who makes her transform into Sailor Moon, the guardian of love and justice! She then sets off, slightly confused, to fight evil and protect her friends. The second episode introduces Ami Mizuno, also known as Sailor Mercury! I was really happy to meet a second sailor senshi so early on!
There is no way to fault the plot of Sailor Moon, she is the mother of all magical girls! Yes, it's a little old school and a little cliche, but lets not forget that this manga was written in 1991! Its a story that nobody can dislike, its not particularly complicated or in-depth. But it's all about women's power and friendship and most importantly, transformation sequences. And really, who can argue with that? Also, I would say that so far (there's only been two episodes so its a little hard to judge) the plot is being handled better in this than in the first series! Sailor Moon is already showing her independence and the plot is moving a lot quicker (Sailor Mercury didn't appear until episode eight the first time round!).
When keeping track of the Sailor Moon Crystal information, one particular piece of news really got me excited. The voice actor for Usagi Tsukino is the same for the reboot series! Which is brilliant because I don't see how anyone else could pull it off! This is not true for the other characters though. I don't know about the other sailor senshi, but Hisako Kanemoto is doing a very good job at Sailor Mercury! Her voice is soft and sweet and compliments Mercury's personality perfectly.
The animation of Sailor Moon Crystal is probably where the biggest change has happened. The advancement in technology has made a lot of things possible that were impossible in the original series. Most notably for me is the 3D animation during the transformation sequences. Obviously animation quality has greatly improved since the 90's, but even next to other anime of this generation, Sailor Moon Crystal is incredibly smooth and detailed! Especially when it comes to hair, Usagi's famous 'dumpling hair' flows so beautifully! Simultaneously, they haven't rejected the old art style which Takeuchi originally bought Sailor Moon to life with. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I love the bright pastel colours and the super shojo eyes! On the other hand, the body proportions are more than a little off, they might as well be aliens at this point! The limbs are more like twigs and the waists don't even exist! I know that this happens in most anime but at this point its more than a joke! Also, I have to come back to the transformation scenes because I really don't know how to feel about them. They are extravagant and exciting and much more detailed than the original ones, however, I'm not convinced by the 3D. You can see that a lot of effort went into creating it, unfortunately I do not feel like it matches the general aesthetic. I hope I get used to it though, because I'm sure I'll see it more than a few times as the series progresses.
I'm trying not to be Sailor Moon bias, but its such an amazing franchise and Crystal does not disappoint I look forward to seeing how the plot differs in future episodes and also meeting the other sailor senshi. I really love what I've heard of the sound track and the animation is super cute! I will however, dock a few points for the horrible proportions and awkward 3D.
Pie:
No comments:
Post a Comment